WASHINGTON — As he prepared to leave Washington for a three-day holiday weekend Friday, President Trump was supposed to have just two pieces of business to finish: Go to the doctor for an annual physical, and sign a proclamation to commemorate the Martin Luther King Day holiday.

But then he found himself engulfed in a controversy that at once undermined his MLK day message and raised questions about his temperament and attitudes towards race, having to address accusations that he called African nations, in so many words, "shithole countries."

This turbulent day provided the most striking juxtaposition to date between two visions of the Trump presidency. In one, Trump is a transformative president whose vow to make America great again extends to Americans of all classes and races. In the other, his not-so-thinly-veiled appeals to white supremacy have divided the country and reversed a half-century of progress on race relations.

Both were on display Friday.

"Today, we celebrate Dr. King for standing up for the self-evident truths Americans hold so dear: that no matter what the color of our skin, or the place of our birth, we are created equal by God,” Trump said, signing a proclamation for the King holiday in a room of African-American officials, pastors, and political leaders.

Moments later, Trump ignored questions from reporters who asked, "Mr. President, are you a racist?"

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After President Trump made disparaging remarks about immigrants, some members of the Haitian communities in New York and Florida said they were offended and believed his comments were racist.
AP

The day before, Trump had told a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the White House that he'd rather have more immigrants from Norway and fewer from "shithole counties" in Africa and reportedly asked, "Why do we need more Haitians? Take them out."

"The fact of naming these countries as 'shitholes' is a way to assert the dominance of the U.S. over the world," she said. "It’s not only about the content of what he's saying, it’s the way he's saying it. To use this vulgar language that they hear as unfiltered and uncensored, plays into the sense of authenticity among the white working class that he's one of them."

But even as these comments spark controversy, Trump has also tried to portray himself as a civil rights candidate and president. Last February, he signed an executive order to move HBCU policy — dealing with historically black colleges and universities — into the White House.

This time, the comment was in a private Oval Office meeting to discuss immigration. But it was explosive in part because it came during sensitive negotiations over an immigration bill that could decide which countries the United States will accept immigrants from and which will have the door closed.

After being invited into the White House to celebrate the proclamation signing, a gaggle of African-American Trump loyalists spoke to reporters outside.

"We often times forget that the president is the president of all the people, of all Americans, Republicans, Democrats, big states, small states, of the forgotten people who put him into office," said Paris Dennard of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, after leaving the MLK proclamation ceremony. "It's also important that we give the president that credit he deserves."

One after another, they vouched for the president's character, ignoring questions about the racial overtones of Trump's immigration language.

"God bless you. Thank you. No questions," said Darrell Scott, an Ohio pastor, turning and walking back into the White House.